General questions and Support needed!!!

[rcurr10]

Hi everyone…I’ve been scouring this site for the last month or so taking in as much info as I can as I have a hip resurfacing surgery scheduled with Dr. Su at the end of June.  Truth be told, I think I’ve taken in too much info and am struggling with overload!!!

I am a 40 year old ex very active male, who had to give up sports over the last 10 years due to ankle issues (reconstructive surgery), ACL surgeries, and an impingement in my HIP which I did have corrected about 5 years ago.  Unfortunately, arthritis has taken over the hip joint, and I’m bone on bone, with osteophytes and joint narrowing.  I’m kind of used to pain, but its been difficult keeping up with my 2 year old and dog, and it’s the inability to do daily functions that has me in this position to seek help.  I’ve tried shots, meds, PT, and they do help but only for a limited time and then seem to wear off.  So like I said I’m having a resurfacing in a few weeks.

I’m struggling to keep my positivity and confidence with this decision up though as I have stumbled across some of the issues with a resurfacing that can result.  Like any surgery there are risks so just looking to confirm my thinking to make sure I’m not missing anything on this site!

It can be pretty scary once you start researching this procedure and coming across the numerous law suits for different implants.  Sounds like alot of the issues these lawsuits get to are due to problems with older implants, surgeon inexperience leading to incorrect positioning, and candidate selection? Sounds like despite issues with metallosis and potential systemic toxicity issues from the metal, if you are an ideal candidate and have a surgeon such as Dr. Su with tons of experience in positioning the implant, these risks can be greatly reduced??  I’m a bit of a worrier, so I am nervous about constantly worrying about having the metal on metal in my hip after the procedure and attributing any little issue to this.  But it sounds like as long as you monitor the cobalt and chromium levels, you can have a good idea / peace of mind, that your within a safe / normal range?  And if worse comes to worse, a total replacement will help to alleviate any issues?

My wife and I are probably going to be expanding our family in the near future, and was curious if anyone had any thoughts / experience with a metal implant affecting your ability to do this? May be a bit of a stretch, but wasn’t sure if metal ions could affect fertility??

Finally, I’m concerned about alignment and positioning of my hip / body over the years and how this will affect an implant in the future.  I can almost guarantee that through overcompensating, and my other injuries, my bodies alignment is simply out of whack!  My fear is that the implant’s positioning will be based on my current misalignments and then once I started to heal and rehab the muscles, that it may start to cause the implant to no longer be in a great position?  Not sure if this can cause edge loading or any other issues, but curious if anyone had any thoughts or experience with this?

Thanks for any insights you can provide!

[stevel]

You are in great hands with Dr Su and you can read my story under Dr Su's patients on this website.  As my signature notes, I have a bilateral BHR done by Dr Su, 12 years apart.  No worries!

[imgetinold]

I did not go to Dr. Su, but he is one of the best there is (probably in the world) and has done this procedure many, many thousands of times.  I'm biased toward Dr. Gross, but patients of Dr. Su are as rabid in their support for him as are Dr. Gross patients.  I would talk to Dr. Su about your alignment issues, and what role good PT might have in your recovery.  He should be able to articulate what he looks for, how he assesses your skeletal structure, and what decisions he makes to correctly position the implant.


Best of luck, and definitely read the posts under the Dr. Su section.

[dannythebeerman]

Good Luck with your surgery.  When I interviewed Dr Gross, one of the questions I asked was, who should I see if he was no longer available. Dr Su was among the names he mentioned.  I'm so glad I found this website.